Wrench



Dec. 23, 1930.

J. c. BAKER 1,785,925

WRENCH Filed April 30 1929 Patented Dec. 23, 1930 umrr; sm-res PATENT .oFFicE JAMES C. BAKER, OFLINCOLN, NEBRASKA, ASSIGNOR F ONE-THIRD TO B. L. DAVIS, SR.,

AND ONE-THIRD To A. .3. OHLFE, BOTH .QFLI'NCOLN, NEBRASKA WR NCH Application filed April 30,

'My invention relates to wrenches and its purpose is to provide :a wrench which is more easily'manipulated than the wrenches at presentinnse.

; Another of my objects is the provision. of a wrench which will have .a soft but firm grip bet-ween the jaws regardless of Whether it is usedas a pipe wrench 'orfor turning nuts.

Specificallyyit,ismy object to provide a wrench having a handle member with .a bar slidalble thereon, the bar havin'gthe under jaw member pivotallysecured thereto.

Having in view these objectsand others whichwi l l be pointed. out in the following description, I willn'ow refer to the drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view partly in section showing one formlofmy wrench.

*igure 2 is a perspective View showing a pipe wrench embodying the novel features.

Figure 3 is a view in longitudinal section of a portion of the wrench, a portion of the handle member being broken away.

The handle member 10 terminates in the outer jaw member 11 which is integral with the handle member. The bar 12 surrounds the handle 10 and it is provided with an opening therethrough the opening having a :0 width slightly greater than the width of the handle 10. The bar 12 has two fixed dogs 13a and 136, the dog 13a being forward of the dog 13?). When the bar 12 is transverse to the handle 10 as shown in Figure 1, the 85 transverse distance between the two dogs is such that they will both bite into the front and rear edges of the handle member 10 to resist any sliding movement of the bar on the handle. A slight inclination of the bar x 12 with reference to the handle 10 will afford ample clearance between the two dogs so that the bar will slide readily on the handle. The

bar 12 may be slidably moved away from the jaw member 11 by applying pressure at the rearend of the bar and in the direction of the length of the handle. 'Likewise the bar may be moved toward the jaw member by applying pressure at the forward end of the bar toward the jaw member 11.

The importance of this construction is ob- 1929. Serial No. 359,291.

vious from the fact that the wrench is to be manipulated largely .bythe use of one hand only. It is possible therefore to grasp the handle and to use the thumb and forefinger respectively for sliding the .bar. along the handle in either direction. .This makes it possible to adjust thewrench instantlywithout necessitating that thezoperator lay down some of his other tools in order to makehis other hand free for use for the wrench.

The opening in the bar 12 extends to some distance forwardly of the dog 13?). :lVithin this portion of the opening is the under jaw member. 14ewhicl1 is pivotally secured at 15 to the bar 12. The member has'free pivotal movement within the bar 12within the limits defined by the outer end of the bar 12 and by the edge of the handle member 10. The jaw member 14 is providedwith a'socket for receiving a coil spring 16 having a large headed pin 17 extending partly therethrough, the head of the pin bearing against the edge surface of the handle member 10.' A second spring 18 is positioned between the jaw member 14 and the inner surface of the bar 12.

:Thespring pressed pin 17 urges the movable jaw 14 forwardly from the forward edge of the handle member" 10 and this pressure .is exerted against the spring 18 .to compress the 'latt er, the combined pressures of the springs urging the front end of the bar 12 inwardly from the fixed j-aw 11 and binding the offset dogs-13 and 13' on the handle member 10. j I

.In the constructionshown in Figure 2 the parts are identical to those shown in Figure 1 with the exceptionof the additionaltongue 19 which is a projection from thejaw member 14:. This also is placed within convenient reach of the operators fingers so that he maymove the jaw member 14; outwardly when he is adjusting the wrench. This feature is particularly useful when the jawsare made to engagea pipe or other cylindrical object. 1 r The front and rear edges of the handle member 10may besmooth throughout but it has beenfound in practice that the ma terial of which the'wrenchis madeinakes it desirable to provide 1 additional holding means. If the handle 10 is made from hard steel, the dogs will not have sufficientgrip and they will slide along the edge of the handle member to release the hold of the jaws on the nut or pipe. If the material of i handle is suliiciently soft to prevent the s. ingof the dogs, the operative edge of dog 13?) is apt to bite into the edge of handle member 10. This in itself would not be objectionable except for the fact that after the wrench has been .1 use for seme time,v a series of unequally spaced notches is produced in the edge of the handle and these notches will often be so placed as to make fine adjustment of the wrench impossible. I therefore proviee corrugations or serrations 20 in the handle member, these corrugations or serrations being fine enough for close adjustment.

The two springs bearing against opposit sides of the jaw member to a certain exten' act against each other but both cooperat in maintaining the slidable bar in lat-chin position. Either spring, however, may

1.26 released by means of the thumb bearing against the jaw member itself or one of the fingers bearing against the tongue. As before stated, the wrench is designed to be manipulated by one hand and it is so designed that all of the operations could be carried out by a mechanic having only one arm. The tongue on the jaw member is particularly useful when the wrench is be used as a pipe wrench since it enables the mech anic to adjust the jaw member to the most desirable inclination for seating the pipe between the jaws, at the same time sliding the bar so that the pipe is firmly grasped between the jaws.

Having thus described my invention in such full, clear, and exact terms that its construction and operation will be readily un derstood by others skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A wrench comprising a handle member having a fixed aw on its outer end, a slotted bar loosely mounted across the handle member, a fixed dog in the back of the bar opposite the rear edge of the handle member, a second fixed dog in the front of the bar opposite the forward edge of he handle member, said dogs being offset relative to the length of the bar and spaced apart a distance to free the bar for slidable adjustment lengthwise on the handle member when the front end of the bar is canted toward the fixed jaw and to bind the dogs against the respective rear and for ward edges of the handle member when the bar is swung at its front end away from the fixed jaw, a movable jaw yieldably mounted 011 the forward end of the bar opposite the fixed jaw, the movable jaw having a shank pivotally mounted in the front end of the bar and extending forwardly therefrom, a s ring in the forward end of the bar between t 1e latter and the forward edge of the shank for yieldably urging the movable aw toward the forward edge of the handle member, and a spring pressed headed pin carried at the inner edge of the movable jaw for slidable engagement against the forward edge of the handle member to normally urge the movable jaw outwardly against said first spring and yieldably maintain the bar in locked posi tion.

2. A wrench including a handle member and a fixed jaw member integral therewith, a slotted bar slidably positioned on said handle member, a pair of offset stationary dogs in said bar adapted to engage the respective forward and rear edges of said handle member, a movable jaw member pivotally secured to said bar within the slot thereof, compression member between said movable jaw member and said handle memher for normally maintaining said bar toward its transverse position relative to said handle member to thereby prevent said bar from sliding in a direction away from the fixed j aw member, and means projectin from said movable jaw member within convenient reach of the operators fingers for moving said movable jaw member on its pivot to release said bar from latching engagement with said handle.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

JAMES C. BAKER. 

